Nute Gunray
'Nute Gunray '''was a male Neimoidian who served as Viceroy in the Trade Federation. He acted as a representative of the Galactic Republic during the Stark Hyperspace War and later became a member of the Trade Federation Directorate. He made a pact with the devious and mysterious figure known as Darth Sidious, and thus he came to be a pawn in his shadowy ally's grand scheme. At Darth's orders, Gunray and his henchmen made a blockade above Naboo, in response to the taxation of the Free Trade Routes. Soon after, again at the Sith Lord's advice, he invaded the planet, but the plan backfired and all ended in a huge failure, forcing him to go on trial. He retained his position as the leader of the Trade Federation and as soon as the Clone War broke out, he pledged his cartel's full support to the seccesionist movement known soon as the Separatist Alliance. However, he continued doing bussiness with the Republic, yet he remained far from it's reach. At the end of the conflict, Gunray and the other leaders were relocated to the planet Mustafar by General Grievous. There, the Separatist Council was eliminated by Darth Vader, upon the orders of their former benefactor: Darth Sidious. Biography Early life Gunray was born on the planet of Neimoidia and like many other Neimoidians, he was raised in a communal hive. This kind of lifestyle encouraged him to become a snivelling greedy coward, who had to have anything that others had. Early political career At some point, he joined the Trade Federation and served as a junior officer, until he was promoted to stint minister. Soon he rose to the position of Senator, representing the cartel's interests in the Galactic Senate of the Republic. At the time of the Stark Hyperspace War, he participated in the conflict and aided the Jedi Knights dispatched by the Supreme Chancellor to destroy the Stark Commercial Combine that both raided Trade Federation cargo ships carrying bacta and refused to listen to the orders given by the Senate. With his goal achieved, Nute Gunray was named Viceroy. Secret Alliance Even though he was the leader, Gunray was still restrained by the Trade Federation Directorate. This infuriated him and he came to think that the board of directors would never approve of a Neimoidian Viceroy. So he kept his affairs safe from the eyes of his colleagues, such as the diversion of funds to representatives Malastare and the creation of a private droid army per his orders. Eventually, he was approached by a mysterious figure who introduced himself as Darth Sidious who offered to make him the sole leader of the Trade Federation in exchange for his services. Gunray and his aide Lott Dod agreed and made the ''pact with the devil. During the Eriadu summit, the members of the Directorate including the duo were called to the planet to discuss the problems of trade in the galaxy. The two Neimoidians observed that besides the twelve battle droids that had escorted them inside there was another one that had not come with them. Afterwards, an engineer came in to ask Gunray and Dod to accompany him to their shuttle that had been damaged. As they exited the conference room, the droids opened fire on all present inside and killed the board of directors. Only after did they realise that all had been part of Darth Sidious's plan, though when questioned by the representatives of the Republic, they denied knowing anyone who could have possibly organized such a bold move. With his colleagues dead, he transformed the Trade Federation into a Neimoidian monopoly, naming his most trusted lieutenants as members of the new Directorate. Invasion of Naboo When the Senate approved the taxation of the Free Trade Routes, the Trade Federation answered with a blockade above the planet of Naboo. Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum dispatched Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to seek a peaceful end to the conflict. However, upon the orders of his shadowy ally, Nute Gunray made an attempt to kill the ambassadors. He failed and the two escaped. Together with his underlings Daultay Dofine and Rune Haako, the cowardly Viceroy invaded the planet. He planned to have the Queen sign a treaty that would make the occupation legal and turn her into a pawn for him to manipulate. He failed yet again, as she escaped Naboo together with her entourage and Jedi protectors, bypassing the Lucrehulk-class battleships. Furious, Darth Sidious told Gunray and Haako that he was displeased with their lack of progress, yet he would send his student Darth Maul to find the fugitives. Alarmed by this tun of events and the reveal of the other Sith Lord, both Neimoidians came to regret the decision of joining forces with the Dark Lord. The whole plan ultimately backfired when his Droid Army was deactivated, the Vuutun Paala ship destroyed, Theed Palace taken by the rebels, the death of Darth Maul and his own capture at the hands of Naboo Royal Forces led by Queen Padmé Amidala. Gunray, Haako and Dod were all sent on trial to Coruscant yet thanks to the secret intervention of Darth Sidious in his public personna of the now-Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the trio escaped prison and continued their illegal bussiness. In a moment of weakness, the Viceroy told Jedi Master Dooku that they had been but puppets whose strings had been pulled by Darth to further his own agenda. The old man assured him that he would tell the others about it. In fact, Dooku soon left the Jedi Order and searched for this Sith Lord. Clone Wars When the Clone War broke out, Nute Gunray pledged the Trade Federation's full support to the Confederacy of Independent Systems, earning a seat in the Separatist Council. Even though he changed his allegiance, his betrayal was never revealed and he continued his partnership with the Republic, regardless of his involvement with the CIS. Soon after the First Battle Geonosis, Rodia came under attacks by pirates. Despite it's representation in the Galactic Senate by Onaconda Farr, the Republic did nothing to aid the people. Gunray stepped in and made a deal with them in which they would kidnap Senator Amidala (with whom he still had a grudge after 10 years since the Invasion of Naboo) in exchange for his help. Farr invited her to the planet where a squad of Trade Federation B1s. The Viceroy later arrived in his shuttle Lappiz Cutter. ''He informed the Rodian that they would receive the much needed supplies after his nemesis would be executed. She escaped and together with C-3PO and Jar Jar Binks, she captured the Neimoidian and asked the Republic to both offer it's support to the people of Rodia and take Gunray for another trial. He was freed by Asajj Ventress from the ''Venator-class Star Destroyer Tranquility, ''the Republic flagship of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. As the Dark Acolyte dueled Unduli and Padawan Ahsoka Tano, he fled in a frigate to the moon of Vassek from where he was later rescued by Separatist Head of State Count Dooku. At the advice of Darth, he agreed to supply bounty hunter Cad Bane with several [[Munificent-class star frigates|''Munificent-class star frigates]] and squads of battle droids. He became furious when Bane informed him of the theft of a holocron from the Jedi Temple and that he was being followed by a fleet led by Knight Anakin Skywalker and Tano. In order for his partnership with the Republic not to jeopardized, Gunray ordered the Duros to transmit him the information that he had stolen. Bane further told him that he needed someone to open the holocron for him and that he could find a way to force Skywalker and Tano into helping him. After the device had been cracked, the Viceroy asked Cad Bane to transmit him the data and in turn he would send a ship to pick him up. Realising that he could not count on the Neimoidian, the mercenary declined and left in a disguise alongside his pursuers. This failure not only left Gunray with no share of profits, but also cost him the whole fleet. In 19 BBY, Nute Gunray entered negotiations with the Wookiees of Kashyyyk. The royal families were mostly agreeing with the terms and would have quicly joined forces with the Confederacy of Independent Systems if not for King Grakchawwaa's advice to wait a little longer. Gunray, Rute Gunnay and Senator Po Nudo informed General Grievous of how things had gone so far. The cyborg told them that they could wait no longer and that they had to do something and make the people hurry up with their decision. He then gave them the order to send some troops on the planet in order to force the Wookiees into pledging their support to their movement. The Separatist leaders at first expressed their lack of faith in the General's plan but dispatched several probe droids anyway. These spies accidentally killed Prince Rikummee and thus his father Grakchawwaa allied himself with the enemy of the CIS. After this, Deko Neimoidia and Koru Neimoidia were conquered by the Republic and it was revealed that the Trade Federation had in fact used money taken from the Senators to secretly continue backing the Confederacy. The Supreme Chancellor allowed Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kit Fisto alongside Knight Anakin Skywalker to take a detachment of the Republic's finest and arrest Nute Gunray and his underlings. They were met with heavy resistance once on Cato Neimoidia from the Separatist Droid Army led by lieutenant Sentepeth Findos, but they managed to pass through and get to a hidden citadel. The Neimoidians however escaped them and met up with the rest of the Separatist forces in the sky. In their hurry, Gunray and Haako had left behind their precious mechno-chair, which they used to communicate with their various associates. Thus, the Jedi were able to learn of the existence of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and the Republic stopped a plot to invade Belderone. Nute Gunray and the other Separatist leaders were near the end of the war in a core ship on Utapau and awaited the arrival of General Grievous soon after the Battle of Coruscant ended in defeat for them. In the hangar on Level 10 of Unlimited Projection, they discussed what to do next and when the cyborg told them about their secret bunker on Mustafar where they would be safe, Gunray became furious and expressed his doubts in Grievous's decisions. Still he fell silent when he felt threatened by the General and followed orders. On Mustafar, they learned of Grievous's death and their most recent defeats. Their fears passed away when Darth contacted them in order to reveal that all had been part of his plan and that the Jedi Order had crumbled. His new apprentice, Darth Vader arrived and as he was greeted by Gunray, proceeded to slaughter the Separatist Council. The Neimoidian was killed last as he came to realise that he had been a fool from the beginning to serve the Dark Lord of the Sith. Category:Trade Federation Category:Members of the Trade Federation Category:Separatists Category:Bureaucrats of the Old Galactic Republic Category:Males Category:Neimoidians